Bovine papilloma virus contains an activator of gene expression at the distal end of the early transcription unit.

Bovine papilloma virus (BPV) contains a cis-acting DNA element which can enhance transcription of distal promoters. Utilizing both direct and indirect transient transfection assays, we showed that a 59-base-pair DNA sequence from the BPV genome could activate the simian virus 40 promoter from distances exceeding 2.5 kilobases and in an orientation-independent manner. In contrast to the promoter 5'-proximal localization of other known viral activators, this element was located immediately 3' to the early polyadenylation signal in the BPV genome. Deletion of these sequences from the BPV genome inactivated the transforming ability of BPV recombinant plasmids. Orientation-independent reinsertion of this 59-base-pair sequence, or alternatively of activator DNA sequences from simian virus 40 or polyoma virus, restored the transforming activity of the BPV recombinant plasmids. Furthermore, the stable transformation frequency of the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene was enhanced when linked to restriction fragments of BPV DNA which included the defined activator element. This enhancement was orientation independent with respect to the thymidine kinase promoter. The enhancement also appeared to be unrelated to the establishment of the recombinant plasmids as episomes, since in transformed cells these sequences are found linked to high-molecular-weight DNA. We propose that the enhancement of stable transformation frequencies and the activation of transcription units are in this case alternate manifestations of the same biochemical events.